Is The RMS Queen Mary Related to The RMS Titanic?

the Queen Mary was the grandest ocean liner in the world carrying Hollywood celebrities like Bob Hope and Clark Gable, royalty like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and dignitaries like Winston Churchill. - See more at: http://www.queenmary.com/our-story/Our-Story.php#sthash.8woVrhfX.dpuf

the Queen Mary was the grandest ocean liner in the world carrying Hollywood celebrities like Bob Hope and Clark Gable, royalty like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and dignitaries like Winston Churchill. - See more at: http://www.queenmary.com/our-story/Our-Story.php#sthash.8woVrhfX.dpuf

"The increasing popularity of air travel helped signal the end of an era for the Queen Mary." -The Queen Mary Website

the Queen Mary was the grandest ocean liner in the world carrying Hollywood celebrities like Bob Hope and Clark Gable, royalty like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and dignitaries like Winston Churchill. - See more at: http://www.queenmary.com/our-story/Our-Story.php#sthash.8woVrhfX.dpuf

     During my Vacation to Los Angles California, my mother and I visited the retired Cunard cruise liner the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach California, which at the first glance looks exactly like the Titanic. The museum itself was interesting with it's own Princess Diana exhibit but I wanted  to know more about the ship and the company rather then the paranormal activities. So I've decided to use this blog post to research more on the RMS Queen Mary. Let's find out!

      The RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that primarily sailed in the North Atlantic from 1936 to 1967 for Cunard-White Star Line. (The White Star line ran into bankruptcy after both the Titanic and Britannic sank, with this Cunard saw it's opportunity and bought White Star, merging the cruise lines. I can image the upset over a rival business merging because your business was falling under.)  Built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland, the RMS Queen Mary along with her sister, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built and became Cunard's main passenger liners that traveled from  Southampton UK, to New York City.

     In 1936 the year of her maiden voyage the RMS Queen Mary won the Blue Riband, something that the RMS Titanic attempted to do but failed. The Blue Riband is an honor award in which gives great pride to ship and cursing company for being/making the fastest ship of said year. Before  the start of World War II, the RMS Queen Mary won the Blue Riband again in 1938.

The trophy for the Blue Riband

     In 1940 as the war raged on the RMS Queen Mary was sentenced to stay in New York City, where she waited for the RMS Queen Elizabeth and SS Normandie to arrive.  After the arrive all three ship were converted into troopships, that transported Allied soldiers from Australia to the UK. During the war the Queen Mary was nicknamed "The Grey Ghost" due to her ability to out maneuver German U-boats and she had been painted all grey by the crew during her refit. Both Queens continued transporting soldiers until the wars end. However the SS Normandie caught fire in 1942 and capsized.

    As the war ended, the Queen Mary was once again refitted as a passenger liner and was painted back into her current colors.  Both the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth dominated the transatlantic passenger business once again until 1958 when the first transatlantic jet flight succeeded.  This “first” introduced an entirely new era of competition for the dollars of transatlantic passengers. Ships couldn't compete with the shorted travel times.

     Until 1965 both ships continued to carry passengers, but numbers of first class passengers were dwindling. Finally, the Cunard line decided to retire both and sell them for a profit. Two years passed while buyers still fought over which ship they wanted. The city of Long Beach, California outbid a Chinese company that intended to scrap the ship; after the sale, the RMS Queen Mary was docked in what is now the Dark Harbor where it is a tourist attraction.

     Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, was destroyed by a fire and sank in the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong during 1972 while she was being refit to become a ship university. The Queens were succeeded by ships that bear the names: RMS Queen Mary 2 and the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. Presently the Queen Mary 2 is the only transatlantic ocean liner in service between Southampton and New York City.  

The RMS Queen Mary permanently docked in the Dark Harbor

      Both the RMS Titanic and RMS Queen Mary resemble each other just by the paint job. Though the RMS Queen Mary is much larger and heavier and built with much stronger steel then the Titanic something still seems to familiar about them.  Both ships were created by the White Star Line even though The RMS Queen Mary's design was primarily Cunard, White Star still had a say in it and asked to add in a few of there traditional touches. The plans weren't ever put through but to compensate  Cunard flew both the White Star and Cunard flags during travel of every one of their ships, also Cunard used the term White Star Service to describe the level of customer care expected of the company and ships associated with them.

     The RMS Queen Mary was criticized for being "to traditional for her time"; however, Cunard reminded rival companies that they wanted to build a ship that resembled the elegance and luxury to tribute the retired ships. During 1912 the RMS Titanic and her sister the RMS Olympic was said to be the most luxury ships of the 1910's. I believe that Cunard recognized  this and  created a mixture of each ship adding small touches to the ships appearance. How the RMS Queen Mary was painted is an example, the creator could paint her anyway and choose the black tipped orange funnels famously seen on the RMS Titanic.

    I feel like the RMS Queen Mary is the RMS Titanic successor. When was younger I remember my mom telling me that the RMS Titanic and RMS Queen Mary were cousins. But the Titanic sank long before the Queen Mary was built. Both ship seem to resemble the end of an era. The RMS Titanic ended the Edwardian Era while the RMS Queen Mary finished up the primary transatlantic travel era. So what will end the Jet transatlantic travel? Will we get beamed to places like in Star Trek?

From left to right:
RMS Titanic, RMS Queen Mary,a ship of the same design of the Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary is home to 49 deaths out of her 60 year ran and was once again nicknamed "The Haunted Ship"
 

The Stories of 'The Haunted Ship'

     " A small girl from third class thought she would have some fun and slide down the banister into the first class pool but a sudden wave upset her course and she broke her neck on the fall. She now wanders the pool area and nursery looking for her doll or mommy. She is not alone though. In the 30 and 60, two other women met their unfortunate deaths in the pool area and are seen periodically in the area." "The Queen Mary Haunting.

      "A reported visitor that slipped a steward some cash in exchange for finding a 'willing' female passenger to keep him company for the night. After stowing his luggage, a female companion was found and they retired for the night. In the morning, the man was missing from the dining hall so the steward went to find him. What they found instead was the corpse of the female companion! They could not locate the male guest, his registration information for that room nor his luggage, which people swore was checked and stowed. He simply vanished and left only a trail of blood and rumors." -"The Queen Mary Haunting.

 

     "John Henry who lied about his age to procure a position on the Queen Mary and was soon crushed to death while trying to flee a fire. To this day, knocks and bright lights can be heard around engine room 13 where the young man met his untimely death. Ịt's even been reported that the door to the engine room is sometimes hot to the touch or that mixed in with a ball of light is tendrils of smoke." -"The Queen Mary Haunting.

 

     "John Pedder, a fireman in his late teens who was crushed to death by a watertight door in 1966 during a routine drill. Unexplained knocking has been heard around the door, and a tour guide reported she saw a figure dressed in dark clothing as she was leaving the area where the young man had been killed. She saw his face and recognized him from his photographs. He was dressed in blue coveralls and sporting a beard." -"The Queen Mary Haunting.

 

      "There are several other reports of sightings about the ship including a beautiful young woman in an elegant white evening gown who dances alone in a shadowy corner of the salon, which was once used as the ship’s first-class lounge. Another mysterious woman in white has been seen close to the front desk. She will usually disappear behind a pillar." -"The Queen Mary Haunting.

    Ghost haunters went in to see if the ship was really haunted but someone tampered with there equipment so they've decided to try and figure out again. So is the RMS Queen Mary really haunted or not?

I loved touring this ship for the day feeling as if I was transported back in time to a place of class  but knowing that you pay to stay in a newly refurbished first class room gives me the creeps. Even by walking through the halls you can pick up a few odd feelings like you know something is watching you. 

Work Citied:
"The Queen Mary Haunting." - Your Ghost Stories. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.

"NOT JUST UNIQUE... ONE OF A KIND." The Queen Mary. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

 "RMS Queen Mary." RMS Queen Mary. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

 "RMS Queen Mary." RMS Queen Mary. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

 "RMS Queen Mary." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

 

Titanic a Conspiracy?

Recently my class was curious if the Titanic disaster really happened, I rebutted with yes but it made me think about the possible conspiracy theories revolve the ship. Here are five I found and thought I'd share, I'll have more next week, I've got to get going outta town.

1. A fire reportedly started inside the coal bunkers even before the ship sailed. The fire subsequently triggered an explosion and caused the liner to hit an iceberg. This theory has existed for years. Ray Boston, who has researched the Titanic story for over 20 years, offers new evidence to corroborate it. Boston claims that a fire started inside the sixth compartment on April 2 and it was never extinguished. The owner, John Pierpont Morgan, decided that the Titanic would quickly reach New York and allow the passengers to disembark, and the fire would then be put out. The liner set sail with a fire on board, and an explosion subsequently occurred during the trip. Captain Edward John Smith feared his ship might blow up even before reaching New York. This explains her high speed at night when the risk of hitting ice formations was particularly high. Despite ice warnings received by the Titanic’s wireless telegraph operators, Captain Smith did not order the ship to slow down. Consequently, the Titanic hit an iceberg.

2. According to a conspiracy theory, it was not the Titanic that sank on April 15, 1912. Some believe it was RMS Olympic, the Titanic’s sister ship, that sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912. Both ships had an almost identical appearance. On September 20, 1911, the Olympic collided with HMS Hawke, a Royal Navy cruiser, with both ships receiving damage. However the Olympic’s owners had major losses

because the damage was not sufficient to collect insurance payments. They deliberately directed the Olympic into an area teeming with icebergs and persuaded the captain not to reduce the speed, so the ship would sustain grave damage after hitting an iceberg. This theory was initially corroborated by the fact that numerous objects raised from the Titanic disaster site could not be linked to the ship. The theory was refuted after ship parts stamped “401,” the Titanic's hull number, were lifted from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The Olympic’s hull number was “400.” The Titanic’s hull number was also found on the ship’s propeller.  But it still has supporters.


3. It was the Curse of the Pharaohs. Lord Canterville, a historian traveling aboard the Titanic, had with him a sarcophagus containing the mummy of an ancient Egyptian priestess. As the mummy had immense historical and cultural value, it was placed near the bridge, rather than inside the cargo hold. Those supporting the theory allege that the mummy had affected Captain Smith’s reasoning. Consequently, he disregarded numerous ice warnings and did not order the ship to slow down, thus dooming her to a disastrous end. This theory is corroborated by well-known incidents when treasure-hunters and archeologists who disturbed ancient graves, primarily those of mummified Egyptian kings, later died of mysterious causes. Those affected by the curse behaved erratically and often committed suicide. So, did the pharaohs really help sink the Titanic?

4. One of the helmsmen reportedly made a steering blunder, which sent the Titanic to the bottom of the ocean. This recent theory deserves special mention. In her novel, Good as Gold, Lady Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the Titanic’s Second Officer Charles Lightoller, claims that the crew had plenty of time to steer clear of the iceberg. But Quartermaster Robert Hichens, the man at the helm, panicked and turned the wheel the wrong way. The truth which was revealed almost 100 years after the disaster, was kept secret until that time by the family of Lightoller, the most senior officer to survive the Titanic's sinking. In fact, Lightoller was the only person to know the real cause. But he concealed the information because he feared that the owner, White Star Line, might go bankrupt, and his colleagues would lose their jobs. Lightoller’s wife Sylvia was the only person to know the truth. She eventually told her granddaughter about the steering blunder. Lady Patten claims that the Titanic, a huge and reliable liner, sank relatively quickly because she failed to slow down right after the collision. Consequently, the moving ship received hundreds of times more water than would otherwise have been the case. The liner was not promptly stopped because Bruce Ismay, the chairman and managing director of White Star Line, had persuaded Captain Smith to continue the voyage. Ismay feared that his company might incur serious material losses due to the incident.

5. Another theory alleges that the Titanic wanted to win the Blue Riband, a prestigious prize awarded to a liner for making the fastest North Atlantic crossing. There remain many proponents of this theory, mostly writers because it originated in the writing community. In 1912, the Blue Riband prize was held by RMS Mauretania of the British Cunard line, which instituted the prize. The Cunard line was also the main rival of White Star Line. The theory’s proponents claim that Bruce Ismay, the president of White Star Line, urged Captain Smith to arrive in New York a day earlier than planned to receive the prize. This supposedly explains why the ship was traveling so fast in a dangerous sector of the Atlantic. But this theory can be refuted easily because, unlike RMS Mauretania, the Titanic could not have reached the record-breaking speed of 26 knots. Incidentally, RMS Mauretania's record stood for over 10 years after the Titanic disaster.

I know it's a lot but I do believe the sixth one, imagine at that time to be the largest and fastest ship. A title that White Star Line desired.



"Six Theories on the Loss of the Titanic." RIA Novosti. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

"Ultimate Titanic." Ultimate Titanic. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

'Unsinkable" Margaret Brown

     I wanted to look at Margaret Brown's life because I heard about about her given nickname "Unsinkable" so I was curious on why she was given such a name in which was given to the ship she survived its disaster.  Was she "Unsinkable" because she made it to safety or was it because of something else that she did? To begin this questions let us take a glimpse in to her past.

Born Margaret Tobin in Hannibal, Missouri, on July 18 1867, living in a home with three immediate siblings and two half sisters was difficult but she made it through. In her years as a teenager, she worked stripping tobacco leaves for Garth's Tobacco Company and at age 18, she moved to Leadville, Colorado with her older brother Daniel. As she continued to live in Colorado, her brother became a mine promoter and she began to work at Daniels and Fisher Mercantile where she worked in the Carpets and Draperies department. In the summer of 1886, she met her future husband James Joseph Brown (J.J) a miner whose parents emigrated from Ireland. In September of 1886 they married, and had two children Lawrence Palmer and Catherine Ellen. While her children were young, Margaret was involved in the early feminist movements and established the Colorado Chapter of the National American Women's Suffrage Association. She worked in soups kitchen to assist families whose fathers were in the mines. By 1893, depression fell over Leadville and J.J Brown began to mine the Little Johnny, a mine in which people could only find sliver, by a method called timber-and-hay J.J was able to break through the sand and reach the lower depths of the mine. What lied in the lower depths was gold, so much gold was getting shipped out about 135 tons of ore per day that J.J was given the title of most successful miner on 1893 and a wealth of money was awarded. Because of the newfound wealth, the Browns family moved from their small cottage to a house in Denver. In Denver Margaret became a found member. Margaret became a founding member of the Denver Woman's Club, raised funds to build the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception as well as St. Joseph's Hospital, and worked with Judge Ben Lindsey to establish the first Juvenile Court in the country (which eventually became the basis for today's U.S. juvenile court). She also continued her schooling at Carnegie Institute in New York, where she studied literature, language, and drama. The languages she learned soon became vital to communicate with Titanic survivors. 

My thoughts so far: 

     WOW! She was some women, a true hummanintiran I believe someone who worked so hard for other women's right and helps different families. As her husband stumbled upon riches she goes and countinues to give back to her community by raising money for Hospitals, and women's club. I like her so far! Moreover, I learned that she ran to become one of the first women in the United States to run for political office, and ran for the Senate eight years before women even had the right to vote. Pure empowerment right there I love it.

     By the time Margret boarded the Titanic she was quite famous in America and Europe due to her past story and her advocating women's rights. Her daughter and she were traveling through Europe but when she heard news of her first grandchild was ill she decided to end her travels and return to New York, so she booked the first ship back, which happened to be the Titanic. Helen was supposed to join her mother but decided not to at the last minute and stayed in London for a while longer. Aboard the Titanic, she was a first class passenger and most women enjoyed her company but she become even more famous with the sinking of the Titanic. As the first class passengers were boarding the lifeboats, she assisted the crewmember by comforting the women and children as they boarded. She was eventually forced on to a lifeboat herself because she insisted more people could board and she could wait. Her lifeboat, number 6 was one of the only lifeboats that went back to look for any survivors after Margaret urged Quartermaster Robert Hichens, the crewmember in charge of lifeboat 6 to return. Hichens was fearful that if they did go back, the lifeboat would be pulled down or would be swamp by people trying to get inside.

     My thoughts: 

     Can you even imagine what it would feel like to watch the ship sink and witness all those innocent people enter the frigid water while you're in a lifeboat that can hold several more families. Listening to the cries slowly die down because they victims are dying. I can't even imagine a silver of what Margret faced. Especially for someone who lived to help others and concluded that she cannot do anything to save them or yourself. I understand why some survivors with insane after this event. So many souls you'd see die and feel as if they're going to haunt you. How was she able to cope after all the tragedy how can a woman keep fighting for what she believes?  God what else can this women do? Juggle chain saws?

     As the Carapethia arrived and helped each lifeboat a board Margret continued to help, she assisted Titanic survivors aboard the ship, and later in New York. By the time Carpathia reached New York harbor, Margaret had helped establish the Survivor's Committee, been elected as chair, and raised almost $10,000 for survivors. Margaret's language skills in French, German, and Russian were an asset due to communicating to immigrants rescued from the waters. She even remained on Carpathia until all Titanic survivors had met with friends, family, or medical emergency assistance. All before, she left to go check on her little grandchild.   On May 29 1912, she presented the Sliver cup to Captain Rostron of the Carpathia and medals to the other Crewmembers. In the later years that followed, she helped erect a Titanic memorial that stands in Washington, D.C.to this day; visited the cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to place wreaths on the graves of victims; and continued to serve on the Survivor's Committee. Nevertheless, when the Titanic Hearing arrived she was unable to testify due to her gender, this infuriated her and she wrote her own version of the event to numerous newspapers, and was published in newspapers in Denver, New York, and Paris. As her fame grew, she used it as a platform to talk about issues that concerned her which included labor rights, women's rights, education and literacy for children, and historic preservation. As World War I ended, she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France and helped rebuild devastated areas behind the front line, and worked with wounded French and American soldiers. In 1932, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her "overall good citizenship," because of her actions. It seems unfit that a woman of such power and pride died of a Brian tumor October 26, 1932, but until the day she died, she continued to raise money and support those victims of the Titanic. 

     Margret was never known as molly or unsinkable in her lifetime, 'Unsinkable Molly Brown" was given to her after a 1964 musical was put out. Even though I can see why some people believed, she was unsinkable, through the disaster that occurred with her she was still able to continue doing what she loved and helping other. This woman is the definition of Humanitarian I believe. 

Titanic Memorial reads:

TO THE BRAVE MEN

WHO PERISHED

IN THE WRECK

OF THE TITANIC

APRIL 15 1912

THEY GAVE THEIR

LIVES THAT WOMEN

AND CHILDREN

MIGHT BE SAVED

ERECTED BY THE

WOMEN OF AMERICA

TO THE YOUNG AND THE OLD

THE RICH AND THE POOR

THE IGNORANT AND THE LEARNED

ALL

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES NOBLY

TO SAVE WOMEN AND CHILDREN

 Hyslop, Donald, Alastair Forsyth, and Sheila Jemima. Titanic Voices. Southampton: Southampton City      Council, 2006. Print.

 "Margaret Brown." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

 "Molly Brown." About.com Women's History. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

 "Molly Brown Avoids Sinking with the Titanic." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

 "Mrs Margaret Brown (Molly Brown)(née Tobin)." Encyclopedia Titanica. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

Website

Skipper of RMS Carpathia

Halloween was yesturday, I hope everyone had a great night. 

     Captain Arthur Henry Rostron, born on May 14 1869 and raised in Lancashire, England at age 13 he began his career of becoming a sea captain, several years younger than Titanic's captain Smith. At age, 18 he became part of a barque group the Red Gauntlet in which he was promoted to second mate. After two years of experience, he was promoted to first mate. In 1894 he took and passed his Extra Masters exam and received his certificate to captain. A year later, he became the fourth officer of Cunard's passenger liner Umbria. As the years follow, he was passed in between ships ending up captaining the RMS Carpathia in 1912. He was the captain for 4 months when April 14 happened. Upon his ship were 125 first class, 65 second class and 550 third class. The Carpathia was to sail from New York to England, and had left April 11th 1912. April 14th, the unfaithful night arrived and while Captain Rostron was sleeping, wireless operator Harold Cottam awoke him franticly and explained the Titanic's distress calls. Immediately Rostron set a new course towards the Titanic, he didn't wait until Harold confirmed it was the Titanic, he just did. 

    To create more steam Rostron ordered to cut off the ships heating and hot water to maintain the ships maxium speed of 17 knots toward the Titanic's last know coordinates. Roustron charged the Carpathia through dangerous ice fields at full speed to help the unsinkable ship 58 miles away. Sadly, it took four hours for the Carpathia to arrive to what was now open water. At 4:00am, Carpathia's crew rescued 705 passengers from the Titanic's lifeboats, due to the amount of new passenger Rostron decide to turn around and go back to New York. Because of the heroic efforts, bronze medals were given to crewmembers while officers were awarded silver medals. The captain was awarded a sliver cup and gold medal for his impressive actions during a disaster. Rostron was later knighted by King George V, and was a guest of President Taft at the White House. During his White House stay he was presented with a Congressional Medal, the highest honor the United States Congress could give.

Molly Brown awarding Rostron for his actions.

In the picture above, I wonder why Molly appears to be unhappy about his award. Were the first class passengers angry over the captian saving them first of could it be that she thinkins he shouldn't be smiling at a time like this. Hmm... we'll see next friday.

My Thoughts:
      I'm very impressed with both the Titanic and Carpathia's captain's actions. Even though Captain Edward Smith died aboard the Titanic and Captain Rostron survived several more years, they stayed with their ships and with their crew. I believe that's a Captains responsibility, like a drivers responsibility of a car is to stay with their car; it's something they love and what to keep.  I was looking back at the wreck of the MS Costa Concordia, a cruise ship built in 2004 by Italy for Carnival lines (White Star became Carnival Crusie lines). Captain Francesco Schettino was incharge of the ship, but when the ship hit rocks that were mapped on his navigational system, he jumped ship before giving any orders. 

      How is a man able to save his own life before the people he's responsibile for? Because the Concordia hit off shore of Italy the Coast Guard and rescuers where there immediately, after a Crew member sent the Distress signal. A Crewmember had to send the Distress signal a sudbournate of the captain. The disaster wasn't as huge as the Titanic but 32 passengers still lost their lives, 32 people that shouldn't have lost their lives, because the Capitan should have stay aboard and helped the Coast Guard rescue passengers. What's the matter with these ship captains? That's like being a life guard (which I'm) and not resucing a drowning person, by doing that I'd be neglient and a horriable human. 

Titanica Docutmentry by IMAX

"Captain Arthur Henry Rostron." Encyclopedia Titanica. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.